We’re pleased to publish our 2018-19 Annual Report. We’ve tried to make this year’s report – our second – a celebration of what the club has been up to over the course of the year, as well as including all the details we’re required to include about our policies and finances. It’s available to read here, and we hope you enjoy reviewing it. It covers from August 2018 to July 2019, which is the club’s formal reporting period. Many thanks to everybody at the club who contributed to this year’s report, and looking forward to reporting on the year in progress. All of our required documents, and previous annual report, is also available on our website
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(I’d thought of this title before acknowledging the third sport and watching the Cubs win the play-off, Go Cubs!) Chicago trip was off to a good start, sat behind Scott Overall on the plane (retrospective hats off to Scott for finishing 13th overall in 2:18). Electric atmosphere upon arrival, runners welcomed with open arms. Pre race preparations had been interesting, whilst training may not have gone to plan I’d nailed the carb loading; living off little other than rice & pasta since leaving home 5 years ago. Expo negotiated, secret service closed down the city for Obama’s arrival as we attempted to leave the convention centre, American efficiency at its finest. Race morning arrived, with the stunning Chicago skyline as the backdrop I lined up in Corral A alongside fellow Bella Michael Lancaster. Rendition of the National Anthem and the gun was fired, 52 seconds later the Bellas were off on their comprehensive tour of the Windy City. Through the loop and headed north to the zoo before returning downtown and completing the first half, surprising lack of congestion and through without issue in 1:32. Headed west and things started to become troublesome, cramps from ~15m put any ambitious hopes of GFA to bed. Worth a shot and still, this was a marathon debut in Chicago and absolutely nothing was going to spoil it. On we continued through little Italy and towards China town, heading south and through 20m. Came to a halt with hamstring cramp at 21m, soon back underway and the crowd density increased dramatically towards the finish. A 2.5m straight took us to 500m to go, up “Mount Roosevelt” (we should show them the Sherbrookes) and along the finishing straight with arms aloft, proud to be wearing a purple vest and bringing it home in 3:24. I’ve watched my parents run a lot of marathons and, with the exception of seeing Kev smashing it at the mighty Wrecsam Marathon, little compares to Chicago. Phenomenal race, thoroughly enjoyed and one for your bucket list. A heartfelt thank you to the club for the support, advise and reassurance over the summer months, especially to Louise. There’s nothing quite like running in a Bella vest. Post-race celebrations continued long into the week, taking in all the city had to offer. The thought of a marathon terrified me, now impatient for the next one. DH In the days leading up to the race I found this from @coachbennett on Instagram, one worth pondering: This was never about the Marathon. The true marathon was the journey to get here. Getting on those daily starting lines. To start another Recovery Run. Another Home Run. Another Speed Run. Another Long Run. Over and over again. Day after day and week after week. You don’t need a race to prove you are a Runner. You need a race to celebrate you are a Runner. So, enjoy your Party. I hear they’re going to shut down the streets of Chicago for you. And you deserve it. […]
Beautiful spring weather welcomed 500 runners to Fort William for the Lochaber Marathon on Sunday, 15 April. An out and back course along the shore of Loch Linhe was the challenge and 6 runners from Bellahouston Roadruners were up for it. The course is fairly flat, undulating in places. Basically you run towards Corpach and continue on until you reach 13 miles, then turn round and run back. The snow capped mountains give a scenic backdrop and the fact there are only 500 runners and few cars means you get a clear run. Although there is a sneaky wee steep hill in the last mile. Bellahouston highlights included PBs for Greg Glendinning ( 2.41 and 1st MV40) and 2.59 for Nea Macinnes. Thanks to Danielle, Brendan, Susie and Peter for their excellent support around the course. Bellahouston Times Greg Glendinning 3.41 Nea Macinnes 2.59 John Gilhooley 3.09 Frans Roelefse 3.14 Tomoyo Fujiwara 3.33 David Boyle 3.39 Full results Above report from David And some additional reporting… from Tomoyo I enjoyed running this race, beautiful view and plenty of water station there. It was my 19th marathon and I had my first experience “I took a wrong turn” at 25 miles, as I did not see any runners in front of me. However the guy who was running behind me (actually he was walking when I passed), he shouted and rescued me!!! I wonder if this guy ignored me….am I still running now?? Lucky me, I guess! I will try hard again at the Edinburgh marathon next month to get sub 3:30!!! Thank you for all your support. And more from Nea ….. Phew, that was close! Ran 2:59:46, new PB by 10 mins. Perfect running weather on lovely flat course, until the last mile when little hills come out of nowhere and feel as if you are climbing Ben Nevis itself! I thought I had 90secs to spare and cruise to the finish until Brendan started running beside me in the last mile screaming at me and looking worriedly at the stop watch on his iphone. My garmin was showing that the finish must be round the corner, but alas it was round the corner, up the hill, round another corner and then the final straight (0.25miles longer than I thought!). In the final straight just as the legs wanted to fall off I had Brendan screaming behind me and Peter screaming in front of me – there was NO way I was not going to finish under 3 hrs!! Great support from Danielle, Suzie and the Sadistic Duo – Brendan & Peter! I know I could not have done it with out your support – BRILLIANT!!!! Well done to all Bella’s on the day and Greg getting 1st V40!
This afternoon saw the first running of a new addition to the Scottish marathon scene, the Meadows Marathon in Edinburgh. The idea of two Edinburgh students to raise funds for charitable causes, there has a been a fun run and a half marathon in previous years. However this year included the 26.2 miles for the first time. Organised by students from the University, the course ran alongside the half marathon, 7 laps of the Meadows park & Bistro Square for the 13.1 milers & 15 laps of the same route for the marathoners. Registration was held at the ‘Potterrow Dome’ in the southside of the city, & was well organised and efficient. At 1225, after a pre-race gentle aerobic workout, the races commenced. My first Scottish marathon was underway. I ran this event as a long training run prior to the Madrid Marathon next month. The 15 laps were easy to follow, with stewards from the Uni giving noisy encouragement to the participants as well as directing the runners. However there was a sting in the tail. The laps in the park were straightforward enough, but the cobblestones up to Bistro Square & back down again, 2 per lap, were a real shock to the system. And painful too. Throughout the course, a real effort was made to add to the atmosphere, with live music in the square, and the Uni blasting out songs from their PA system. Also, loads of encouragement from the crowds of spectators. There was also live music in the park, though the performers did a runner during a hailstorm. 15 laps sounds rather repetitive, but I quite enjoyed it! There was no hidden surprises (apart from the cobblestones) and you knew what to expect in the latter stages. The only other grumble was the distance of the race. 26.87 miles is the longest marathon I’ve ever ran. I was led to believe 26.2 miles was the norm. To be fair, the organisers did say this in an e-mail issued, due to the logistics of the course. I ran the event in 3:34:55/8 minutes per mile, so in summary a good workout. No medal to the finishers. Just a cerificate and an awful ‘goodie bag’ full of leaflets. I would recommend this event. It is excellent preparation for the London or Edinburgh marathons, and its good to run the distance psychologically prior to these events. However, it is essential the organisers sort out the distance aspect. Why not put the finish line in the park? On a lighter note, why not tarmac over those cobblestones? Report from Mark
Chris Brotherston has just sent in his race report from the 2011 Ben Nevis Hill Race: It seemed like a big ask with all that ascent using only two blistered feet, the rain plummeting from the heavens and the gallus mountain clothed in dank mist. This was it……the Ben Nevis Hill race, the thing you hear about as a kid and think to yourself “wow, these guys must be superhuman”. And then as you stand at the start line you see the super human athletes such as Finlay Wild (no relation to the humble Oscar or his long suffering wife) and Angela Mudge (whose dog is even faster than you) or Stuart Mathieson (just being pseudo sycophantic there Stuart). But they are in the minority the rest of us are human; some carrying injuries while others carry hangovers and overhanging bellies. But, that’s hill racing with its motley assortment of craggies on the crags, sloppers on the slopes…..and the illiterate alliteraters…. Anyway, back to the hill race……….and in a hill race everything is about feet….how many feet of ascent and descent…how are your feet…..what are you wearing on your feet……did you keep your feet (no I gave mine away to a passing tourist who got in the way on the bloody zig zags!)…wow what a feat (!). Anyway back to the hill race….it starts as most race do and then finishes. In between there are a hell of a lot of feet (4370 feet of ascent, 1000 runners feet and 500 incredible feats). To some it is running up and down in an incredible 1 ½ hours, to others it is completing it in just under four hours, while all those in between have their own personal goals. An experience it was; an achievement it was; an emotional experience it certainly was; a joyous pleasure…..well I think I will leave that feat to the imagination……. Wouldn’t change it for the world though…. More details, results and… FEATures (boom *tisch*) about this famous hill race at http://www.bennevisrace.co.uk/
For those of you that don’t know Andrew Murray is a rather optimistic chap who has set himself the goal of running from Scotland to the Sahara desert. This is a total of over 2600 miles which he is planning to do running on 85 consecutive days. In doing this he hopes to raise £100000 for the Yamaa trust, a charity aiming to eliminate poverty in the Gobi region of Mongolia. As part of his run he invited people to take part in an ultra-marathon race from Kinlochleven to Tyndrum. In a moment of madness myself and Elsie decided this might be a fun thing to do. We arrived in Kinlochleven in the dark the night before the race to find Andrew Murray drinking beer, showing off his swollen Achilles and dishing out kilts for the race in an attempt to break the world record for the number of people racing in kilts (rather unlikely that there is one to be broken, but anyway…) Andrew shared some of his running tips, like eating 480grams of scotch eggs for breakfast in preparation for his fifth day of ultra marathon running. After a hearty lasagne and a pint, we retired to our luxurious (not) accommodation at the Blackwater hostel. Due to a minor administrative error on my part, we had failed to get our entry in on time, but Elsie charmed Andrew into giving us entry into the race. On the start line there was much discussion about the unconventional kit list for the race, which included safety pins and a mirror, but had no mention of items such as gloves or maps. There were also an impressive number of runners sporting kilts and other fancy dress items. We set off at 8:30 on a clear and cold morning, surrounded by snow covered mountains and headed south along the west highland way route. After a fair deal of climbing, most reached the devils staircase where there was plenty of ice and snow underfoot to make running interesting and a little bit scary. Others in the race (Grant included, Elsie excluded) failed to follow the well-marked path and ended up adding 3 miles of off-track, in-bog, over-mountain lost-shoe running…hmmmm, not what you need when doing an ultra, but what you get for assuming Andrew Murray knows the way and following him! Eventually us lost ones got back on course slightly muddier and tired than those competitors with the unfair advantage of being able to follow a path. Other race highlights included a spectacularly leaking platypus, meeting deer at the Kings House pub, multiple toilet stops, incredible views, running alongside men and women in skirts, and very wet feet. After a very long 28 miles (more like 31 in my case due to the scenic detour) we reached the finish line tired but happy, Elsie and her sister even managed to raise a cheer with a sprint down the hill to cross the finish line. We retired to the pub in Tyndrum to stuff […]
Chris Brotherston sent in this report of the recent Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon (12/13 June): For those of you who don’t know about the LAMM, it is a 2 day mountain marathon done in pairs with an overnight wild campsite. It is meant to be a challenge of hill fitness, orienteering and mountain self-sufficiency. This was my second time competing with my partner Robin Orr and it was my main motivation for joining Bella…….when I found out last year that I couldn’t run or navigate and was self-insufficient. One of the key elements is keeping your (carry) weight down and I knew I was in for a shock my first time round when Robin told me that I ‘shouldn’t’ bring boxer shorts as they were too heavy (!) and that I needed to drastically reduce my hill food (disaster for me!). This year I was better prepared with my underwear sorted, a post-it-note sized karrimat to sleep on, the foil removed from my painkillers and just enough food to continue to keep my B.M.I on the wrong side of normal. As usual with the LAMM the start location was kept a secret until two days beforehand to stop Bella type ‘reccies’…..and this year it was kindly close to Glasgow in Glen Fyne. We competed in the ‘C’ class which I had convinced myself stands for competent rather than c**p. We set off really early the first day covering the 25km/1700m of ascent in 5h 45min and were placed well enough at 19th from about 160. We would have done better but the heat took its toll on the umpteenth hill. Afterwards it was a surreal experience at mid-camp sitting with a crowd of glum England fans huddled round a car radio 1400 foot up a mountainside listening to England sadly draw with USA. Second day dawned with a sensory overload (the smell of latrines and the shrill piping of a lone bag piper). Thanks to my (partner’s) navigational skills we started well and picked up some places and were well placed until the final hill check point. I knew immediately we had a problem when Robin cursed past me muttering ’we’re on the wrong f*****g’ hill’ (Translated this actually meant – you need to improve on your navigation Chris because you had the task of marking the check points on the map and you couldn’t even get that simple navigational task right) Anyway we eventually finished 12th which was up from 30th last year – something which I can certainly attribute to the Bella sessions. Unfortunately I still need to work on my navigation, so if anyone sees me running round Bellahouston park in the middle of the night carrying a map and compass and wearing just a headtorch and my ‘sorted’ underwear, rest assured I am just trying to find the right f*****g’ hill’ If you fancy the LAMM, check out the website http://www.lamm.co.uk, I would recommend it!
Here’s Brian’s report from yesterday’s “Eddie’s half marathon” in Fort William: Greig and I, with support crew of Danielle and the dogs, headed north for this half marathon in Fort William. Excellent weather conditions allowed for some spectacular scenery on the drive up, and indeed throughout the race. Snow capped hills all the way. The race starts and finishes on the shinty pitch next to the Nevis Centre, and it’s an out and back course. We headed out through a housing estate and onto a cycle path for the first mile or so, then onto the roads all the way to a turning point at half away with only a few turns to get us there. It was a bit hectic for traffic with runners on both sides of the road and the cars having to get between us. Limited marshalling, and this caused a problem for Greig on the way back as he and the group he was running with ended up on the wrong path for a short time (about 19 seconds worth claims Greig!). I was delighted to get a new PB 1:21:43 and finish in 10th place, but hats off to Greig for another stunning performance. He finished 5th in 1:19:18. That’s his first sub 1:20 and he did it in style. Afterwards there was loads of biscuits, tea and coffee for the presentation. Slightly disappointed that with the range of prizes on offer Greig didn’t manage to bag one but I don’t think that took the shine off the day for any of us. Thanks to Danielle and dogs for support once again. The race was won by Robert Gilroy in a time of 1:10:46. Highly recommend this one. More here, on the forum.